


As Honest As You Left Me

by Dutch



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/F, Fake Harem, Hurt/Comfort, No Incest, Past Abuse Mentioned, Strangers to Lovers, more accurately fake harem to lovers, so much world building, some details given, world building, written during corona virus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:00:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24338539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dutch/pseuds/Dutch
Summary: In an alternate reality where one child is designated heir of household and the rest are dubbed subservient, you can love whoever you want and however many you want, just as long as your parent agrees they are a worthy spouse.Rose was born to a wealthy military man who abused her and her brother until she was arranged in marriage to a man she did not love. Now, six years later, Rose has returned home not to her father, but to her brother for a sham of a wedding that promises freedom from further abuse. She returns surprised to see her brother has taken a harem of other wives, but perhaps it is not exactly how it seems.In which Rose remains a lesbian, fake marries her brother and falls in love with the woman of her dreams.
Relationships: Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Terezi Pyrope/Dave Strider
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

It was dark inside of the carriage. The horse’s foot falls outside echoed the throbbing of Rose’s black eye. There was blood on her skirt from yesterday where her nose bled, and at this point it hadn’t been soaked and it probably wouldn’t come out. That was fine, Rose had been wearing this particular outfit for over forty eight hours and she was ready to trash it when she got where she was going. 

That was also a bit of a mystery, where she was going. She had no idea, and no one would tell her. They’d been ordered to give her the cold shoulder, and even now they were out of her husband’s house even the driver wouldnt speak to her. If she was lucky, she supposed, she was going to a convent. If she was unlucky, and she supposed given the greedy nature of her husband, she was going to a brothel. That would be appropriate for him. She’d left her husband’s home in disgrace, divorced and already deflowered, she was worth nothing to anyone save to an establishment that made her a bride for the night. 

That was the facts of it, she supposed. She’d finished crying over it at about three this morning. Her face still felt hot though, like tears were just under the surface, and her throat was dry and scratchy. Six years with that bastard and he couldn’t even send her off with a glass of water.

Rose thought they’d been traveling for close to two hours when the carriage finally came to a stop. The door was promptly jerked open and sunlight flooded the space, and a round faced woman poked her head in. 

“You’d be Miss Rose, wouldnt you?” She asked. 

Rose could only nod. 

The woman grinned at her, and stepped a little closer, bringing her outfit in to Rose’s view as well. She was dressed simply, not at all in provocatives like a brothel Madam. Where was this place? 

“If you’d like to step out with me, I’ll help you to the house,” the woman offered her hand to Rose. Rose looked at it, looked up to her face, then back to her hand. She moved slowly, but she did take the offer. Rose was one foot on the ground when the carriage driver qued the horses, nearly tipping her over as the step was jerked out from under her. There wasn’t time to be angry about it though, because her knees crumbled the rest of the way when she realized where she was. 

The house was large and stately, square shaped and set on the lot so that two sides of it were visible. Where the corner should have been was instead a grand entryway, high vaulted arches framed an ornate door Rose knew to be heavy. The house had all kinds of bump outs, a rotunda room with a domed roof, balconies off both ends of the second and third floors, and a porch that wrapped all the way around. 

The colors hadn’t changed at all, cream exterior, gold accents and a red roof. The shingles were custom ordered. Rose knew exactly where she was now. This was her childhood home. 

And though she hadn’t been here in many years, she knew who resided inside. 

“Oh! Gosh, are you alright?” The round faced woman asked, bent down to try and pick Rose up from the gravel driveway. Rose didn’t have it in her to answer. Instead those tears that felt like they were so close to the surface broke though. 

“Oh, now, no need for tears,” the woman tried to soothe. “Up, lets get ourselves up.” 

This time Rose let herself be heaved up to her feet, and she only stumbled once on the way up the steps. 

The entrance to the house was unchanged. There was a grand, curved staircase that welcomed them, and a chair and small table that usually collected coats in the winter months. Behind the chair was a misshapen circle of missing wallpaper, where the wall had been repaired but the wallpaper had been discontinued. The hole had been made by her father and repaired by someone else. 

Her father. Rose wanted to vomit at the thought of him. It made her sick to share his genetics. To share his hair color and the cadence to his voice. He’d be down those steps any minute, belt in hand like he always did when they were children, going to try and beat the impudence out of her like her husband had tried. Maybe he’d kill her this time. 

If he didn’t beat her, he’d certainly cut her with his words. A disgrace. A shame to his family line. Unfit to carry his name, unfit to share his blood, too sullied even for a nunnery. Not even god would take her at this point so surely he’d have to. 

“The master of the house’ll be down soon for you,” the round faced woman said, pulling Rose back to reality. “You’d best come with me.” 

Rose wanted to wail, to break down and sob, beg this woman for mercy. Surely she knew how fast her father went though house help, surely she knew how terrible he was and maybe she could help. Instead she let herself be lead to a parlor room, the one off the right that was reserved for important guests. 

Here, she noted, the furniture was different. Once upon a time the walls of this room had been decorated with various weaponry, collected over the years. Photos of her father had been up with them, photos of him and his friends, but never photos of their family. A large oak desk had sat at one end, and a pair of chairs had sat near the fireplace. Now instead the weapons were gone and the walls had been papered a deep carmine color. The desk and chairs were gone, replaced instead by two couches and a low table, which had all been pushed to a wall to make room. 

A Chaplin stood in front of the fireplace, his robes spotless and wrinkle free. To his left a few paces removed stood a woman Rose had never seen before. A bit shorter than Rose herself, she had shoulder length red hair and wore sunglasses indoors. She didn’t seem to be looking at Rose as she entered, nor was she looking at the baby on her hip. 

It became very clear to Rose what was happening here. Her father couldn’t stand to have her back in the house and had already arranged another marriage for her. The other woman was not only here to witness, but she was also likely her new husband’s first wife. Rose knew because she had also been a first wife. 

And how could she just stand there and allow this? Rose had at least made sure the wives her husband took had been clean and prepared and hadn’t been outright sobbing at the alter. 

“You’ll have to forgive my looks. I’m aware I look like a cheep steak, but that seems to be your husband’s type. Seeing how fast he’s arranged this to go on,” Rose directed at the redhead, bitter and angry. 

“Don’t you worry, he’s not marrying you for your pretty face,” she returned, able to dish what Rose was giving right back at her. “My husband’s absolutely insufferable and I can’t wait to share that with you.” 

Rose didn’t dignify that with a response. She bit her lip to hold her tongue. 

“He snores, just so you know,” the other woman taunted and Rose bit her lip harder. 

The Chaplin looked at Rose with pity, reaching out to touch her arm. 

“God will be with you,” he spoke, but Rose highly doubted it. God had not been with her since she’d left this house the last time. The round faced woman left them then, and as if on que, footfalls came down the stairs. 

Rose couldn’t look. She didn’t want to face him. Her head was still held up proud, but she looked instead at the Chaplin only. Thump. Thump. Thump. A pattern that only served to heighten her anxiety, each heavy thud spiking her fear until her palms sweat as she clenched and unclenched them. Her knees locked as he came to the bottom step and the sound changed. Rose’s eyes still leaked, hot, heavy tears that fell to the the dirty blouse she wore. 

“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road.” 

Rose’s head jerked to the side. That was not her father’s voice. It was her brother’s. 

“Dave?” She said, but her voice squeaked from lack of hydration. 

“Hey,” her greeted, his same suave smile from childhood still the same as she’d left it. 

“Dave, what are you doing?” 

“Ah, don’t get cold feet on your wedding day,” Dave interrupted, and Rose’s mouth gaped. 

“You can’t, I’m your sister.” 

“Course I can. ‘Cause you aren’t my sister, you have a different last name than me?” He continued. Of course that was true, she still had her ex-husband’s last name, but it didn’t change the fact they shared the same parents. 

The Chaplin shrugged. “Shall I get on with the ceremony?” 

“Yes, let’s get this moving,” the woman with the baby piped up. 

As the man started reading, Dave produced his wallet from the pocket of his vest and opened it. Rose could see him pull out four hundred dollars in crisp hundreds, and hand them to the Chaplin who took them and pocketed them without missing a beat. Had she just witnessed a bribe? 

“And by the power vested in me, I pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.” 

What? It was over already? 

“I think we’re gonna take a rain check on the kiss, thanks though,” Dave laughed. Actually laughed. He shook the chaplain’s hand, and in a whirl of people Rose almost didn’t see, someone brought in her things, the Chaplin, the first wife with her baby left and left Rose dumbfounded in the parlor with her brother. 

Dave turned to look at her, really look at her just then. He started at her skirt, looking at the blood stains and ended with a grimace at her black eye. 

“He really got you good,” he mumbled. 

“He did,” Rose sighed. “I don’t want to talk about him. What’s going on, who set this up? Where’s father?” 

“Dad? Rose, he’s dead. He’s been dead for close to four years,” Dave replied. 

Rose’s jaw dropped. Though she was surprised, she couldn’t say she wasn’t relieved as well. “Why didn’t anyone call and tell me?” 

“Nobody knew where you were,” Dave tried to calmly explain. “He never wrote down where he sent you or a name of who to. Rose, I have been looking for you for years.”

He reached up to tuck a strand of her dirty hair behind her ear. “I missed you so much.” 

“I missed you too,” she returned. “I still have to ask. Why did you do that? I mean marry me. Incest is illegal. They’ll throw it out once they realize.” 

“Did you miss the fat wad I gave the guy?” Dave chuckled. “I did it so nobody could take you away again. I’m not like, going to tell you what to do or make you make me dinner or anything. I mean, you’re way better off fake married to me than with that other guy.” 

That was true. The house was apparently more safe now than it had ever been. Rose was just having trouble wrapping her head around it. 

“Does your wife know?” She asked, thinking back to the red haired woman and the baby. 

“Terezi? Oh yeah, she knows. I talked this whole thing out with her before I did it and she was on board,” her brother answered. “Hey, did you see my baby? Isn’t he just the cutest little fat cheeked spawn you’ve ever seen?” 

“I’m honestly surprised you found someone to reproduce with you,” Rose said but there was no sting to it. Dave laughed. 

“Surprised me too,” he grinned. “Go get yourself cleaned up. I uh. I moved the baby in to your old room cause it was closest to ours, so just pick one.” 

Rose wrapped her brother in to a hug, and when they parted ways, Rose took her bags and carried them up the stairs. 

She was relieved that she hadn’t been made to take her old room. There was too many memories inside it. When she opened the door to an empty room on another side of the house, she thought maybe this was enough distance from those memories it would work. She didn’t even attempt to put her clothes away, instead she flopped down on the bed and let herself sink in to the mattress. 

She hadn’t even known she was going to nap until after she woke up. It was dark out already, she’d slept the entire afternoon away. She was groggy, and wasn’t she supposed to shower? Ugh. Rose laid there a while longer and then finally heaved herself up. She grabbed clean clothes out of her bag, a wrinkled white long sleeve and a pair of black high waisted pants, and took herself down to the shower. The clawfoot tub was still missing a toe, and the water pressure still sucked, but clean hair was priceless. Nothing could help her black eye, but maybe she could find some makeup for it soon. 

Dressed and ready as she’d ever be, Rose emerged from the bathroom. She had two options, either go back to bed and try and get more much needed sleep, or go find herself something to eat. The bed was calling her, but food sounded so much better. Her feet were bare as she descended the steps, and she could feel her hair drip on to her shirt. 

Rose knew her way, passing though another parlor and a formal dining room before pushing open the swinging door to the kitchen, and was surprised to find the room warm and full of life. 

The round faced woman from earlier was here, making dinner on the stove with her long, curly dark hair tied behind her shoulder. Dave was in the room too, seated at the table shoved against a window attempting to feed his baby something that looked a lot like mashed carrots. Terezi, the red head from before was sitting next to him, and on her other side was yet another woman, tall and bean pole skinny but what stood out most about her was a large, pale scar covering the left side of her face. 

The door made a thump when it hit the jam and they all turned to look at her. 

“Hello!” The dark haired girl exclaimed, putting down the knife she had been using to cut potatoes and wiped her hands on her skirt. “Dave’s told us so much about you! It’s so nice to get to meet you proper! I’m Jade.” 

Jade came closer and wrapped Rose in a hug. 

“Charmed,” Rose responded, strained but not uncomfortable. The embrace was a bit tight. 

“She’s a hugger,” Dave warned belatedly. 

“I can’t help it!” Jade exclaimed, pulling away finally. “My grandpa was too.” 

“The court does not recognize genetics as a defense,” Terezi snickered. 

Jade rolled her eyes. 

“Anyway, you meet Terezi kinda already, and this is her sister Vriska. And the baby is Dirk,” Dave butted in. And as if on que the baby spit up all over himself. “Fuck.” 

“He’s okay, it’s already dirty so just finish feeding him,” Terezi said, holding out a napkin to Dave. 

“I have done this before you know,” Dave huffed, and took it. He cleaned the baby’s face before he tried to shove more carrot mush at him. 

That was when Rose started to notice wedding bands. Jade, who Rose had assumed was a maid, wore one. Terezi of course did and when Vriska moved there was one on her finger as well. Rose had assumed she was the second wife but now it seemed she was actually the fourth. 

Something on the stove bubbled and it drew Jade away. 

“Rose, why don’t you go sit down? It’s my turn to cook tonight and it’s almost done,” Jade grinned over her shoulder. 

“Yeah, come sit, Rose,” Dave agreed. 

Rose took a deep breath and nodded. She found an empty chair across from Dave, her back to the big bay windows that had framed the table for as long as she could remember. The soft glow of the overhead lights tried to bring her comfort, but Rose couldn’t seem to break away from her apprehension. 

“Did you have a nice nap, sleeping beauty?” Terezi asked, and Rose noted when she looked at her, she wasn’t looking right at her. 

“It was fine. I’m glad to be home,” she answered honestly. “It seems like a happier home than I left it.” 

“You’re welcome,” Terezi grinned. 

“Real talk, Dave added. “I wouldnt have got this far after dad died without her.” 

“‘This far’ being married to four women and living off of what? Inheritance?” Rose said, her tone even but her words barbed. “I don’t think I ever pictured you this way.” 

“Five,” Dave corrected around his fist as he coughed. 

“Five,” Rose echoed. 

“Yeah uh,” Dave faltered, so much so he had to stop feeding the baby. “I was arranged to marry Terezi and she didn’t want to leave without Vriska, I mean for a good reason too. And then Jade’s grandpa died and left her with nothing, and then the fourth, she-“ 

“I’m home!” 

The door swept open and in a flourish of skirts and garment bags and material. A woman who could only be the missing fourth wife appeared. She was tall, though not as tall as Vriska and her black hair had been trimmed short and sort of fluffed outward. She dumped her various bags near the door and once her hands were empty, she stood up, dusted herself off, and her hands pulled the material just right to accentuate the hourglass shape to her body. She reminded Rose of a ballet dancer, all fine lines and graceful, delicate moving. 

She was the most beautiful woman Rose had ever laid eyes on. If this is what she looked like coming home from work, Rose was sure she would simply swoon to see her all done up in the morning. 

“Welcome home, Kanaya!” Jade chirped, and was followed by a chorus of other welcomes. 

“Thank you,” she spoke and lord, the woman sounded like how velvet felt. “How’s it coming? Do you need help?” 

“No, I’ve got it, but you should go meet Rose! She just got in this morning.” 

“Oh!” Kanaya exclaimed, and the moment they made eye contact Rose began to feel very small. 

“Welcome, Dave has told us so much about you,” Kanaya smiledand then did just about the most interesting thing Rose had seen all day. Counting her wedding. 

Kanaya reached up to fuss with her hair, tucking a stray lock of it behind her ear. Her make up was this mornings, and Rose could see a little bit of genuine redness behind her foundation and blush. 

“Thank you. Alternatively, I’ve heard nothing about all of you. I suppose six years away will do that though,” Rose sighed, but it wasn’t an unhappy one. 

“Oh, I see,” Kanaya replied, and her voice was much quieter. 

“Oh my god,” Vriska groaned, her hand coming to pinch the bridge of her nose. “No. She just walked in the door.” 

“Beg your pardon?” Rose said. 

“Don’t,” Terezi warned her. 

“I wish you could see this, Terezi, because it’s like fucking magnets,” Vriska scowled. 

“I wish I could see a lot of things. But shut up,” Terezi retorted, and to make the point she pulled her sunglasses off. The sunglasses and off gaze made perfect sense now, especially when Rose was looking right at her milky blue eyes. Terezi was blind. 

Vriska scoffed. “You and I both know Kanaya going to fuss and bug and fixate on-“ 

She didn’t get to finish. Terezi leaned over and unceremoniously licked her on the cheek, making her squeal in disgust. 

“Can we not?” Dave asked but he went largely ignored. He looked back at Dirk in time to watch him spit up again. 

“The food is done!” Jade crowed over the commotion. Jade made eye contact with Rose and motioned her to come on. 

“I’ll show you which cabinets has the bowls?” Kanaya offered. 

With a grin, Rose stood and followed Kanaya away from the table. 

* * *

After dinner, everyone seemed to go their separate ways. Dave took the baby to go change his clothes. Terezi went to what had once been Rose’s father’s office, which had apparently became her office as she was a senior law student. Jade went out on the back porch to enjoy the evening and Vriska had apparently made an observatory out of the house’s cupola and went there to look out over what little bit of the ocean they could see from here. 

Kanaya however invited Rose with her. To be fair Jade had invited her too, but didn’t look offended when Rose gravitated to Kanaya. Rose helped her with all of her things, helping carry them up the stairs and in to a room that had been a guest room, and had now been converted in to a small studio. 

One wall was full of bookshelves, the middle shelves stuffed with patterns and the lower ones had a shelf removed so they were tall enough to fit bolts of material in every shade. There were two manakins in the room, one in a mostly done gown and one that looked only half started. Thread organizers were mounted on the walls, and a large work table was taking up an entire one fourth of the room. There was also a sewing machine, and it looked fairly new, the wood it was mounted on was a rich cherry color and the machine itself was still shiny black with crisp gold lettering. The foot peddle that powered it did look like it was getting its fair use though, plenty of scuffs there. 

Kanaya hung the garment bag she had brought along on a hook mounted on the wall, and unzipped it, pulling out a black nearly floor length cotton dress. 

“I was almost finished with this when I realized what time it was,” Kanaya smiled, first at Rose and then down at the dress, proud of her work. 

“It’s very apparent you’re a seamstress, you have beautiful work,” Rose complimented. 

“Thank you,” Kanaya replied, cheeks coloring for the second time that night as she swept the dress over to a manikin and began removing the unfinished one to place the black dress on it. 

“I don’t think I’d still be doing this if it weren’t for Dave. My father wanted me to marry and be a mother but tragically for him, I’m about as interested in men as he is. If I was still making dresses, I defiantly wouldn’t have have the shop,” she chatted as she began to adjust the dress so it fell right. 

“The shop?” Rose asked. 

“Oh yes, I opened a dress shop down town with the family’s help. It’s not much, a little hole in the wall actually, but it makes enough for Terezi’s law school and some household needs and to pay myself and my staff. Vriska might be prickly but she’s good with money and she said the less we touch the inheritance Dave got from your father the better,” Kanaya explained. “So we needed a money making endeavor and I suppose I had good enough skill.”

“So your business supports the whole house?” Rose inquired, eyebrows raised. 

“Well, when you put it that way.” 

Rose cocked an eyebrow. “I am similarly inclined about men, so I suppose I don’t understand why you talk about Dave like he rescued you if you’re successful. Wouldnt you rather have married in to another woman’s harem? I hope that’s not too forward of a question.” 

“No, it’s fine,” Kanaya replied and she wouldnt look away from the dress, but Rose could see the tips of her ears color with her blush. “Dave did rescue me. Well, not just him. All of them really. My father wouldn’t allow me to marry a woman. Like I said he wanted me to be a mother.” 

There was some sort of disconnect going on here, Rose noticed. She was missing something. 

“I don’t understand. How can he have rescued you if you still ended up married to a man?” 

“Oh,” Kanaya turned then, her hand over her mouth, shocked. “No, no, it’s not like that. Dave married us, but he’s only involved with Terezi. That’s- She’s his only lover. I’ve had my own bed since I arrived and he’s never shared it with me. He treats us more like. Well, I can’t attest how he treats you, but I was going to say like sisters.” 

Rose was aware her lips were parted. She was beginning to put two and two together. Dave married Kanaya to save her from rape and that jerked feelings inside of Rose she didn’t want to acknowledge. Why couldn’t someone have done that for her? 

The gear in Rose’s brain was still working. What had Dave said? That Jades grandfather had died and left her with nothing? And that Vriska had good reason to follow along with Terezi? If she was understanding correctly, Dave had helped the other girls the same way he had her. No, not just Dave. The family.

“I had this all wrong,” Rose murmured. 

“It’s alright. We did it that way on purpose so we’d be believable,” Kanaya said, apologetic though nothing was her fault. “If we were ostracized the business would tank.” 

The conversation fell in to a lull as Kanaya worked on the dress, measuring the bottom skirt to hem it. Rose found a seat and watched her, watching her slender fingers sticking and re-sticking pins. She looked very focused, but Rose found herself distracted. 

What would it have been like if her father had chosen her as head of the household instead of Dave? It was up to the parent that decided the fate of the child after all, not only who they would marry but if they would serve the leadership roll or be subservient. Rose of course had been the later, and it only figured that her father would have chosen a husband for her that was as terrible as he was. 

He could have chosen her.

Her father could have, she thought, given her that gift. A girl had just as much right socially as a boy did. No one would have looked down on him if he had picked her. Rose could be happily married with a wife by now, just one, she only wanted one. Harems were legal but she had no interest in one. And Dave would have been alright with a subservient roll, she thought. He always flourished around people and likely would have gotten along well with his spouse’s other husbands or wives if they had any. 

But instead she was dealing with six years of trauma and delegated that subservient role for the rest of her life. She would never be able to live without someone owning her though marriage. 

He could have chosen her. 

But he didn’t. 

“That’s a lovely dress,” Rose said, forcing herself out of it. “Who is it for?” 

“Oh, it’s for a client,” Kanaya replied, and then after a beat kept talking, realizing she hadn’t fully answered the question. “Um. You are from this area, you might know her. Do you know a Mrs. Crocker?” 

“I certainly do. Jane’s brother was the same age as mine. They were friends.” 

“Oh, John, yes, he comes around sometimes,” Kanaya looked over her shoulder to confirm. “Anyway, Jane is having a baby and asked for a couple new maternity dresses.” 

“Would you happen to know who the father of the baby is?” Rose inquired. 

“I do, his name is Jacob English, well, English was his maiden name. He goes by Jake anyhow. He’s John’s age, so a few years younger than her but I hear it was planned that way,” Kanaya replied. “She told me she expects to have more children so I expect to have a steady income from her if I do a good job with these. A few new dresses each year, you know?” 

“I didn’t know Jake,” Rose said, because she didn’t and it had been her own question she wanted answers for. “What about John?” 

“I couldn’t tell you,” Kanaya answered. “I’m afraid I don’t know him that well and I don’t make men’s clothes that often.” 

“That’s alright, I can ask him myself,” Rose said. “What about the other dress there? The one on the other manakin. What’s the story on that one?” 

Kanaya stopped what she was doing, putting her hands down to rest on her thighs as she looked up at it. It was a beautiful gown, an hombre effect of color, the top made of lace flowers that covered the breasts but the rest of it was shear. The flowers cascaded down the skirt of it though, blending in with the fabric, very clearly a custom dye job. Though it wasn’t Rose’s favorite colors, it reminded her a bit of the sunset, the top starting a vivid orange and fading through colors to a deep navy. 

It was beautiful in a way Rose had never been able to appreciate in clothing. It was like an art form, a personification. 

“I hope you don’t find this answer odd, but I saw that dress in a dream once, when I was little,” Kanaya sighed, maybe just a bit wistful. “I could never forget it. So I decided to bring it to life.” 

“Your craftsmanship is incredible,” Rose couldn’t help but comment again. 

“Thank you. Sometimes I think it’s my magnum opus,” Kanaya smiled, but it wasn’t at her, it was at the dress. “Would you by any chance like to try it on?” 

Rose’s breath hitched. No. That couldn’t- she didn’t want- Nothing that perfectly beautiful was fit to touch her skin. Not in a million years. It didn’t matter how badly she would have liked to have said yes. Yes, she’d love to, yes. She might have showered already but Rose’s skin still felt dirty. 

“No thank you,” Rose said, and she held it together just like she’d been taught. 

“Alright. Another time then,” Kanaya nodded, going back to work on her hemming. She didn’t sound offended, but somehow Rose thought she still might be. 

* * *

The moon shone in to her window that night. Her old room in this house had faced the sun, often waking her up sourly too early on summer days. The moon was welcome though, bright and waxing but waxing which way Rose wasn’t sure. She wasn’t an astrology person. 

It was welcome only because Rose could not sleep. She’d tried reading, tried counting sheep, finally turning out her light in pure frustration to lay under too soft blankets and blink for hours on end. 

She thought it must have been around four in the morning when she heard footsteps in the hall. They grew louder as they came to her door, and then softer again as whoever it was went back the way they’d came only to return. Was someone approaching her door for her? Did they need something? Perhaps there was an emergency and they were debating waking her? Rose listened to it happen all over again before she decided to get up and see exactly what it was going on. 

The hall was dark, but it was easy to see who it was still. There was only one man in the house to cast a man’s silhouette. It was Dave, pacing the halls, mumbling with baby Dirk in his arms. 

“Dave?” Rose spoke, trying to keep hushed. 

“Rose!” Dave exclaimed and then winced, seemingly forgetting he was in a house full of sleeping people. 

“Shit,” he swore, much quieter. “Rose, hey.” 

“What are you doing?” Rose asked the obvious. 

“Oh, the baby woke up,” he answered like it was simple as day. “He likes it when you get up and walk and kinda talk to him. Goes right back to sleep.” 

Sure enough, baby Dirk was looking quite drowsy leaning on his dad as Dave approached again and he came in to view. Rose wanted to hold him. Maybe tomorrow she’d ask to. 

“You’re a good father. I’ve been here a day and I can see it,” Rose told him. 

Dave quietly laughed it off. “I was so afraid I was going to be a shit dad though. I’m so lucky to have gotten fuckin, I dunno, blessed with Terezi.”

That was interesting verbiage. “Why blessed?” 

“Oh, shit, I dunno. I could have gotten stuck with an insurmountable number of shitty people and I got her,” he shrugged but it was with a smile. “She helped me a lot when dad died.” 

“I believe you said that earlier,” Rose replied. 

“I know, I just. It’s true. I was so stuck after he died. And I was afraid I’d end up like him. Neglectful. Not like, ‘beat him with a belt’ crazy because I would never,” Dave said as if he even needed to clarify. “I don’t think I don’t think I couldn’t have gotten out from under his thumb without Terezi. Even after he was dead.” 

“Her support must have been invaluable,” Rose sympathized. 

“Yeah. It was. He always had to micromanage us you know? Make it seem like he didn’t care but deep down you knew the decisions you made were the ones he wanted? I felt like I couldn’t make choices without him. Terezi was like a lighthouse for me, brought me to shore, or like, helped me steer my shitty dingy to realize I could do things I wanted, because it didn’t matter what Dad wanted,” Dave said, in that rambley way that Rose missed so much about him. “So later when Jade’s grandpa died, I realized that I could use what I had to help. And the other girls, they helped to. Vriska is really good with money so we don’t go broke, Jade knows how to run a house. Seriously, we used to wait until we had no food to go shopping. Terezi keeps my head on straight. And Kanaya is the real bread winner.” 

“What’s that make me?” Rose asked, mostly joking. Mostly. 

“That makes you the sister I always wished I could protect.” 

Rose had to grit her teeth, but she managed a nod and managed not to let her tear brimming eyes leak. 

“I take it Kanaya explained to you what went down,” Dave said, gently rocking the baby as he started to fuss from lack of movement. If he saw her tears, he didn’t say anything. 

“She did,” Rose agreed. 

“That’s good. I figured you’d figure it out sooner or later. I didn’t want to overwhelm you when you first got here with it, and I didn’t get a chance at dinner with so much going on,” Dave explained. His rocking was quickly putting Dirk back to sleep and as Dave gazed down at him, Rose could see every ounce of love Dave had for him. 

“I have something for you though,” he continued. “Hold on just a second.” 

Dave turned and walked down the hall again, disappearing in to the dark of his bedroom, and he returned a few moments later, without the baby and seemingly nothing in his hands. Rose had no idea what, if anything, it could be. He stopped short of her, and held out one hand, and dropped a simple gold wedding band in her palm when she held out to take it. 

“So like, I know we aren’t like, real married, but I don’t want people to harass you about not having one, and I guess uh. The other girls have one, so think of it more like a welcome back to the family, I guess.” She could tell he was feeling sheepish about it. 

Rose turned it over in her fingers, feeling over the cold, smooth metal. “Thank you.” 

“Yeah. No problem. Hey, listen, I’m going back to bed. You should get some sleep too,” Dave smiled, and he pulled her in to a hug so tight she though for a second he was trying to make her feel how much he missed her. They had been so close and he hadn’t changed a bit. 

Rose returned his embrace, ready to pick back up where they left off. 

After they parted, Rose returned back to bed with the ring still in her hand. Though she didn’t sleep and her thoughts still swirled, she thought perhaps there were worse places to spend a sleepless night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this please comment! I have more in the works and the more love this gets the more I want to work on it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: The chapter contains an illusion to abortion but it is brief, and if you read chapter one you'll know it would never happen.

It took Rose nearly a week to venture off of the grounds. She’d toured Jade’s extensive garden in the yard, of course, but she always stopped at the fence. Never ventured out onto the road or down it, but she did think about opening the back gate to search out the trails they’d made as children, see if they were still there. She didn’t, of course, but she thought perhaps she would have liked to.

When she finally did leave it was with Jade, on a shopping trip. They had a horse. Rose was surprised because Dave was always afraid of horses, but it was there in the estate’s pasture and kept company by a large, white, Shepherd type dog.

“Oh yes! This is Bec,” Jade grinned, patting the great white thing on the flank. “When everything sort of went sideways I signed him over to Dave so it didn’t look like I had him as an asset. That way they couldn’t take him from me when they seized everything else to pay back my grandpa’s debts.”

“That was quite clever,” Rose noted.

“Vriska and Terezi thought of that one,” Jade replied and set about harnessing the horse. Rose had known how to do it once upon a time at her ex-husband’s home, but not anymore, she didn’t think, so she decided instead to stay out of the way and stroke the dog.

“My father didn’t allow us to have pets. We didn’t even have horses,” Rose mused, rubbing the dog’s pointed ears for him. 

“Vriska thought it’d be cheaper to do it this way, I guess? The horse was already here when I got here and they sold the car not long after I arrived. They won’t agree to put a gas station in town, so what was the point, right? I’d be fascinated to learn about motors though, there’s probably a way to make a more efficient one.”

“I don’t think I’d even know how to go about it.”

Jade shrugged. “I have a lot of free time now, I’m sure it could be done.”

The cart was painted green and two-wheeled, about four foot by three, the long wooden shafts coming up along the horse's sides as Jade finished the final preparations and bridled the horse.

“We should be all set,” she said. “Climb up!”

Rose didn’t know where to start, there were no steps and no seat on the thing, though she noted that the raised lip around the flat top was missing off the front. Jade fussed with the reins just a moment and then she was bouncing herself up, sitting down with her legs hanging over that front side, and then with a warm smile, she turned and offered Rose a hand up.

“I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in a wagon without seats,” Rose said, glad she had pants on as she gracelessly climbed up.

“You’ll get used to it,” Jade chirped, and then to the horse she said; “Get up!”

The horse shot out of the barn at a brisk, high stepping trot that made Rose grab for the edges as she jolted. Jade seemed ready for it though and held steady to the reins. Rose dared to look down, the dirt of the drive flying by with every clopping hoof. They passed the front gate, and Rose looked back at the house, silently promising her return when she noticed the dog.

“Your dog is following us,” Rose spoke, slightly louder to combat the road noise.

“He usually does! He keeps strays from chasing our horse and keeps people from stealing off the cart when I go into stores!” Jade replied with the wind in her curly hair pushing it back out of her face. “He’s a good boy.”

Rose spared the dog one last glance before looking back to the road in front of them. The horse didn’t need to move any faster than a trot because they were moving fast already. The dirt road was fairly smooth, and there was plenty to look at on the way to town. Rose hadn’t been around these parts in too long, it was interesting to see who’d painted their houses or changed their front gardens or see entirely new homes that had gone up. The village looked the same as it always had when they arrived, the road switching to a tightly packed cobble that sloped gently down a winding path that led to the ocean. It was as busy as ever, people shouting their wears and bustling in and out of matching cobblestone shops. Jade took them down a wide street, one with a few houses peppered in that was less busy, and there they hitched their horse, the dog taking up his positing under the cart without even so much as panting. What an incredibly fit dog, Rose thought.

“So I’m just going to go get our grocery order. You can come if you want, or stay, but you can go do something by yourself too, that’s fine with me,” Jade offered.

“I’d like to see the shop, I think if you don’t mind?” Rose asked, and she felt a little shy asking.

“Oh, sure!” Jade beamed. “Come with me to the corner and you’ll turn right and take it down about half a block? It’s right there on the same side of the street. I’ll meet you down there in a bit, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you,” Rose smiled back at her, and once they reached the corner, they parted ways. Jade crossed the street and ducked into a greengrocer and Rose watched her disappear into the shop before she turned to walk to the dress shop. The town hadn’t changed a bit, but apparently Rose had. She passed a few girls she had known previously, and they looked right at her without saying a word. Rose decided they didn’t recognize her. Or perhaps they had simply forgotten her. She didn’t look that different.

She made it to the dress shop without incident, and she supposed she had her wedding ring to thank for that. When Rose had been home last, this place had been a bookstore. It had been converted seamlessly though, the front window now displayed a beautiful white wedding dress with a mermaid skirt, the mannequin posed in such a way it looked like some kind of princess, chin up and arms posed graciously in front to show off the intricate lacework on the sleeves. The door had been painted a lovely shade of green that complemented the brick and ran over to the sign hung over the door. It read ‘Strider Fine Clothing’ and Rose had to stop a moment and think. She hadn’t really thought of Kanaya as sharing her same last name.

A brass bell over the door chimed as she walked in, a sweet, light sound that had Rose looking up before she looked over the shop. The flooring and walls inside were the same dark wood that the book store had, but new, lighter wood displays had been put up. Off to the left was a sewing section, bolts of fabric put up on the wall on a shelf, and tables nearby held bowls of multicolored thread, arranged by color. Patterns were on a small swivel display, next to a sign that proclaimed sewing lessons could be arranged if needed for a fee. The other side of the store was already made clothing, shirts folded in neat piles, scarves of all colors, and many styles of skirt and pants. Kanaya couldn’t have possibly made them all, likely they were bought wholesale and resold, but still, it was genius. Easier to keep up with demand as well as keep her schedule clear for custom orders. Like the one she was working on.

Kanaya was helping do up the back of a dress when Rose spotted her, and Rose recognized the girl in the dress as well. That was Jane Crocker, and the dress she was wearing was the one Kanaya had been working on a week ago. Kanaya had been right, she was the beginnings of pregnant but she looked happy in the dress, gazing at her own reflection in a large, tri-fold floor length mirror.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” Kanaya called.

“It’s just me,” Rose replied, and Kanaya turned to look at her.

“Oh! Afternoon, Rose. Rose, this is Jane Crocker, a client of mine. Jane, this is my husband’s latest wife, Rose,” Kanaya introduced.

“It’s nice to-“ the last part of her sentence died in her throat as Jane turned. She looked at Rose, hard in the face and her eyebrows furrowed. “Rose? Rose Strider?”

It set in very quickly that Jane not only recognized her but knew something was up. Rose was not prepared for this, and neither was Kanaya by the look on her face.

“Yes,” Rose replied. “That’s me.”

“Did I hear you say ‘latest wife’?” Jane asked. She looked about as uncomfortable as Rose felt. “Because- because isn’t your maiden name Strider? Aren’t you, well. His sister?”

Rose thought for a moment that she could lie. Give her ex-husband's name as her maiden name and say no, Dave was not her brother, what was she? Sick? Lying was not always the best course of action though. Jane was somewhat of a sleuth and as a household head from a prominent family, very well connected socially.

“Yes, he’s my brother, but it’s not as it appears,” Rose replied. This risk was calculated. Jane also had a heart. “We aren’t romantically involved. I married him so I could leave an abusive marriage. If you’d like to hear the details I could give them to you, of course. The story does contain a good amount of physical abuse, fair warning. My ex-husband was permanently upset I wasn’t attracted to men.”

“No! I mean, no. No thank you,” Jane said quickly. “I believe you.”

“It’s appreciated,” Rose returned. “Kanaya and Dave’s other wives were so gracious to welcome me into their home. If it weren’t for them, I’m sure I’d be, well.”

“I understand,” Jane nodded.

Kanaya threw Rose a worried look, but she didn’t pause her work. Rose kept a straight face but she definitely was feeling a little apprehensive about having just broken their secret. Surely though, more people were bound to find out. John would have come to the house sooner or later and noticed she was back.

There wasn’t too much time to worry though, because the bell over the door rang again and in waltzed a woman that Rose didn’t know, but by the look on Jane’s face she didn’t want to.

“Hello, I’ll be right with you,” Kanaya called around a pin in her mouth.

“Nah, don’t bother sis,” the stranger replied. “I’m comin’ to you. I just happened to see my dearest cousin through the window.”

“Hello, Meenah,” Jane said, and she didn’t sound so sure of herself.

The stranger, Meenah, was a tall woman dressed in pants and a blazer. The shirt she had on was far tighter than she had any business having, especially with breasts as large as hers. It made her look trashy, but she didn’t seem to care. She had the same black as night hair Jane had, though hers was long and flowed nearly down to her knees. She also had the same roundness that Jane and John had to their cheeks, a babyface was the best way to word it.

“Sup Janey? See you’re about ready to pop out another spawn,” she drawled with a shark-like grin. “Too bad for them.”

“And just why would that be?” Jane responded with a scowl.

“Well ‘cause they got your inferior blood runnin’ through their veins,” Meenah replied, nonchalant. “If your dad hadn’t all up and killed my mother, well, I’d be head of that house, huh? The house that you’re livin’ in that’s rightfully mine? My mother got picked to be head and your daddy just couldn’t stand it, up there snivelin’ at her funeral like he was sorry.”

“Stop right there! This is a business establishment not a place to air family grievances,” Kanaya barked, standing up straight and facing Meenah square. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Oh yeah? You’re gonna ask me to leave?” Meenah scoffed. “The poor little lesbian tailor who’s daddy makes her sleep with men? How many coat hangers you gone through?”

Kanaya’s poker face cracked with that, just a bit. The bit about her father had her sore but the rest rolled off her. “Not nearly as many as you, I’m sure. Since every gossip in town knows just how hard it is for you to stay in your marital bed. Though, I can’t imagine who would want to sleep with you. I’ve heard it through the grapevine you’ve been to our town clinic for a certain sort of infection.”

“Fuck you,” Meenah scoffed again, though Rose thought that had gotten to her. No snappy remark.

“I’ll ask you again. Please leave,” Kanaya repeated.

Meenah shifted from one foot to the other, staring Kanaya down, and then she left, slamming the door behind herself. Everyone in the shop heaved a collective sigh of relief.

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” Jane said, rubbing her eyes and Rose pretended not to see her tears.

“You’re more than welcome. Now, let’s finish up,” Kanaya grinned.

Rose did not speak and she wasn’t spoken to, which was wise. She thought perhaps if Kanaya asked her a question, she might tell her instead how incredibly attractive she found assertive women.

  
  


* * *

It was some nights later, after the commotion at the dress shop, that Rose’s curiosity got the best of her. She remembered nights as a child, hiding out with Dave in the house’s cupola where their father knew they could hide but was often too angry to bother to look for them there. The tiny room had been bare wood, and drafty in the winter, requiring layers if not a full out coat. Now, however, Rose had reason to believe its current occupant had changed things up.

After dinner one night, Rose gripped the rungs of the rickety ladder that led up to it and climbed.

The cupola had been painted a deep, night sky blue and when Rose looked up, she could see faint reflective white, where constellations and stars had been detailed into the once-white wood.

Vriska was perched on an oversized pile of plush pillows. They were the same dark blue as the paint but made of soft velvet. She looked comfortable lying parallel to the north side, looking out the window she had her feet propped up on and lounging back like she didn’t have a care in the world. She didn’t even seem bothered Rose had even entered.

“What do I owe the pleasure?” Vriska asked, not turning her head too much as even look at Rose. “You want something?”

“No. I just came to see what you did with it up here,” Rose replied. No draft, she noted. “I like it.”

“Thanks,” Vriska replied dryly.

“What made you decide on stars?” Rose asked, using two hands to hoist herself up off the ladder to sit on the edge of the opening, her legs dangling down into the hallway.

Vriska hesitated before she answered. “I liked pirates as a kid. Now I like to ship watch. Sailing at night depends on the stars.”

“Navigation, correct?” Rose clarified. Vriska nodded.

Rose was beginning to notice more about this place. There was a blanket up here, plus some dirty cups, and a spyglass on the windowsill, assumably so Vriska could get a better look at the harbor.

“This looks so cozy now,” Rose mused, a bit offhandedly.

Vriska looked at her out of the corner of her eye and didn’t speak.

“How long did it take you to redo it?” Rose followed up. Vriska was silent for a while, side-eyeing her hard still.

“Couple weeks,” she answered finally.

“I bet it was a mess. I can’t remember the last time I was up here. Dave and I used to hide from our father up here when we were children, and it was disgusting up here then,” Rose thought out loud. She couldn’t tell if Vriska was going to be baited into a conversation. “Plenty of spiders and water damaged wood.”

“Look, you and I know this is not about how I redecorated, it’s about you reliving memories,” Vriska hissed.

There it was.

“Oh?” Rose couldn’t resist baiting her.

“Fuck you. And the sarcastic fucking moody horse you rode in on. You don’t know me, and I don’t know you, except for the fact your dad beat the shit out of you and your sister was the only one that ever gave a shit! So shut up!”

“You mean my brother?” Rose quirked an eyebrow.

Vriska scowled. “Brother. Whatever. You’re the one in my space.”

“Does my being here disturb you?” Rose asked and she didn’t mean here in the cupola.

“No. I said shut up. Nothing about us is the same in the least bit, so I don’t know why you’re bothering to try and make nice,” Vriska wouldn't look at her again. “If you want me to shove you back down that hole keep talking.”

Rose wasn’t quite ready to concede yet. “The way you’re talking I’m inclined to think that’s not exactly true. I believe you’d shove me, but I’m not so sure we have nothing in common by the sound of it.”

“You’re so nosey!” Vriska huffed. “Should have figured you wanted something when you climbed up here. We don’t even know each other.”

“We’re literally part of the same harem,” Rose countered.

Vriska rolled her eyes. “Just ask your question or whatever, whatever gets you out of here faster.”

“Well, just to remind you, you were the one who piqued my interest here,” Rose replied factually, and Rose could tell it was under Vriska’s skin she wasn’t reacting to her attitude. “Your father also beat you?”

Rose’s words hung in the air a moment, and judging by the look on her face, Vriska might just flee the scene entirely rather than force her out or yell. Finally, she put her head in her hands and sniffed loudly, and when she pulled her hands away she started speaking.

“He wasn’t my father. Terezi’s father is not my father. We really aren’t even sisters. Not by blood. And her father never let me live it down I wasn’t his blood.”

“That must have been hard.”

“Hard? Hard?” Vriska gawked, her mood tipping the other way now, no longer hiding how upset she was. “It was more than hard. He was the one that did this to my eye and ostracized me from the family. Even from my own mother, my mother who still loved him after he ruined my face.”

Rose was dumbstruck. Her mouth parted to speak but she wasn’t sure what words she could possibly offer.

“Terezi means so much to me because she was the only person that ever gave a shit. So when she was promised to Dave, we came up with a plan for him to take me too. I couldn’t stay in that house. We came here for the wedding and Terezi locked herself in the downstairs bathroom. Refused to come out unless Dave married me too. Her father was furious, but your bastard of a father was worse I think, screamed at Dave until he was red in the face over something that wasn’t even his fault. Obviously, I never left so that’s how that worked out.”

“That certainly sounds like my father.”

“I’d never been so glad to see somebody dead,” Vriska retorted. “You know people talked about you at the funeral. About why you didn’t come. Dave was pretty depressed but started talking about you not long after that, I think being rid of that nasty son of a bitch jogged his memory about what he was missing.”

“He told me Terezi helped him realize he could help people,” Rose replied, Vriska shook her head.

“No, he was looking for you before he realized you needed help. And that was something I could get behind honestly because I don’t know where I’d be without my sister.”

That was so much to just dump like that, but Vriska had and there was no taking it back. Rose couldn’t un-hit that nerve. She didn’t know what to say, because if Vriska was in a fragile state, the last thing she wanted to do was say the wrong thing and cause a rift in the family.

It was quiet for some time, the pause awkward and thick. Unpleasant was a word Rose would use.

“You just gonna sit there and let me spill my trauma and not share yours? Bitch,” Vriska said, but there was no sting to it.

Rose was surprised she spoke first. It took her a few moments to get her bearings, and then she began to explain.

“He..,” Rose started hesitantly. “He had plans to take other wives when I married him, and he did, but he fixated on me. He was always angry because I was his first wife and I didn’t love him, didn’t want to have sex with him, wouldn't kiss him or have a baby. I don’t know why that particularly mattered because he had five children with his other wives when I left.”

“Five is fucking plenty,” Vriska snorted. “There were six of us where we lived.”

“Agreed, five is plenty. I think I was very lucky I never got pregnant.”

“I’ll say,” Vriska agreed.

“Though, being the first wife came with perks in a more traditional household. I could get my choice of dinner made as I wanted it. The bedsheets were my choice as well,” Rose mused and it was only after Vriska cocked an eyebrow she raised what she’d just said. As if bed sheets could make up for anything she’d gone through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drop me a comment if you liked it!


End file.
